As you may have guessed from the title Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, J.K. Rowling's newest creation has a lot of magical creatures in it. Some of these creatures have appeared in Harry Potter novels, but none of them have appeared on the big screen before (and a lot of their names pass by so quickly in the movie that it's hard to figure out what each one is). Here's a guide to all the new beasts you'll meet in Newt's magical suitcase, along with a description of each one so you'll be ready for your next exam in magizoology.
1. Billywig. The billywig is a stinging insect that flies so fast it's not usually noticed by Muggles. Their stingers are supposedly an ingredient in the wizard candy Fizzing Whizzbees.
2. Bowtruckle. Essentially a sentient twig, a bowtruckle is a small woodland creature that lives in trees. They become violent when threatened, or when their home tree is threatened, as Hogwarts students found out while studying them in Order of the Phoenix.
3. Demiguise. The demiguise is a sort of monkey-like creature that can make itself invisible. This makes it extremely hard to catch once it escapes from Newt's suitcase. Their hair can be used to make invisibility cloaks, though not Harry's invisibility cloak — that one was a Deathly Hallow.
4. Erumpent. An erumpent is like a giant, magic version of a rhinoceros, if a rhinoceros's horn was filled with explosives. In Deathly Hallows, Xenophilius Lovegood had an erumpent horn in his home, thinking it was actually from a crumple-horned snorkack. Of course it exploded, leaving his house in ruins.
5. Graphorn. Newt Scamander has the last pair of breeding graphorns in existence, which might be why you've never heard of them before. Mountain trolls occasionally try to use them as transportation, but the graphorns are so not here for that, and scratch the trolls with their horns in retribution.
6. Murtlap. A murtlap is a rodent-like beast covered in tentacles. These tentacles are a component of murtlap essence, which Hermione uses to treat Harry's wounds in Order of the Phoenix.
7. Niffler. You might remember the niffler from Order of the Phoenix, when Lee Jordan set one loose in Professor Umbridge's office in order to cause mayhem. It looks kind of like a duckbilled platypus, if a duckbilled platypus had an incurable obsession with gold. Director David Yates told the New York Post that his inspiration for the niffler's movement was the honey badger.
8. Nundu. A nundu is like a leopard with a dilophosaurus ruff around its neck. Its breath is toxic, making it both gross and terrifying.
9. Occamy. Picture a beautiful snake with feathers that has the ability to shrink itself or grow itself based on the size of its habitat — that's an occamy. Their eggs are made of pure silver, which makes them very valuable.
10. Swooping Evil. This is a bizarre, reptilian creature that can also fly. It lives in a cocoon when it's not wreaking havoc, and boy, does it like to wreak havoc — its venom can be used as a memory eraser. Newt's swooping evil seems to like him, but everybody else would be wise to not mess with these.
11. Thunderbird. Don't be fooled into thinking this is just a giant hippogriff, because the two creatures are very different. Thunderbirds are native to Arizona, have six wings, and are highly sensitive to danger. Also, fun fact: One of the houses at Ilvermorny (American Hogwarts) is named Thunderbird.
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